Chapter 300: Brief Blossoming

"What… what kind of monster is this?"

"This—he—he's Li Zhaohua, captain of the Edge Team!"

Pan Guoliang leaned forward to peer into the pit; though his clothes were torn to shreds, the Edge Team captain's armband still hung precariously from his arm—his identity was unmistakable.

Auuuoo!

As if triggered by the name Li Zhaohua, the zombie let out a furious roar at the Tianmayu group.

"Shoot! Kill it!"

Before the zombie could move further, Zhang Su opened fire—this time unlike before. Previously, he'd fired single rounds; now he held the trigger down without releasing it. With each recoil, his shoulder jolted as he steadied the sights with both hands, the barrel spewing flame and unleashing the full power of the Type 95 automatic rifle.

Simultaneously, the Tianmayu group gathered at the pit's edge all racked their bolts and fired in unison at the blood-red zombie.

No one dared hesitate—this zombie's appearance was too horrifying, radiating an aura of "I am strong."

Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap.

Gunfire rang continuously. Trained soldiers knew to slightly open their mouths in high-decibel environments to prevent eardrum damage—but now everyone's mouths were wide open, not just slightly, because the scene before them filled them with terror…

Zhang Su emptied his first magazine first, yet he didn't reload. Instead, he tossed the rifle aside, reached behind his back, and pulled out two grenades. While the suppressive fire lasted, he bit off the safety pins and hurled them downward.

"What are you all standing around for? Get to work!"

So what if you're holding a rifle? You can't even hit the target. What's the point?

As it moved at blinding speed, its chilling eyes locked onto them, as if waiting for any opening to leap from the pit and slaughter.

"What the fuck!"

Shards of stone and steel balls from the grenades rained down from the sky; the scene descended into chaos.

"Fall back! Watch out for grenades!"

"Shit, run!!"

Ma Changshou clearly sensed the group's panic and urged them urgently.

As the gunfire ceased and suppression weakened, the blood-red zombie spotted the grenades. It kicked off the broken slab and lunged straight toward them, as if planning to catch them mid-air!

Yet, right after the grenades were thrown, something even more terrifying happened.

But before the group had taken two steps back, explosions erupted beneath their feet—the grenades detonated successfully, foiling the zombie's attempt to catch them!

Pssshhh.

Everyone froze in shock. You could do that?

Boom… BOOM!

As Zhang Su ordered everyone to open fire, the blood-red zombie moved instantly—its movements were lightning-fast. Within the cramped ten-square-meter pit, it twisted and dodged, leaving trails of dust kicked up by bullets. Their aiming speed couldn't match its speed; the situation spiraled out of control!

Everyone was stunned. This blood-red zombie was desperately dodging rifle fire—clearly still wary of firearms—but its grotesque reflexes and speed filled them with helplessness.

Zhang Su imagined the zombie catching the grenades and hurling them back—and a chill shot up his spine. He immediately ordered everyone to take cover.

On the other side of the wall, the people from Xidaying Village, who had been digging graves in the wasteland, stared at each other in silence. Explosions, gunfights, more explosions—a string of battles had left them shaken. The relief of survival had faded; worry etched every face.

No need to aim precisely—a single grenade's lethal radius spread in a fan shape, covering roughly 300 square meters. The zombie occupied barely ten square meters—it was fully enveloped!

"Puff-puff, pfft—what kind of demon is this, fuck."

"Dead, definitely dead. Fuck, my head's bleeding."

"What the hell is the Qinglong Army's science division even doing? A bunch of lunatics!"

When the dust settled, people lay or sprawled on the ground. As the scene calmed, they finally exhaled—and had time to vent.

"Reload!"

Zhang Su sprang to his feet, snatched up his rifle, reloaded while giving orders, and peered tensely into the pit.

"What? No way, Boss Zhang—could the monster still be alive?"

"How's that possible? I saw it get hit, then hit by two grenades—how could it survive?"

Though they spoke of disbelief, their actions were swift and certain: they all ejected empty magazines, slid them back into their tactical belts, and inserted fresh ones with practiced, fluid motions.

"Son of a bitch—it's still alive!"

Inside the pit, the blood-red zombie lay amid rubble, its head shattered beyond recognition—like Edward after a punch from Sakazuki, half its skull gone, the other side crushed, nose collapsed, eyes missing. Yet it still showed signs of life; residual brain tissue trembled rapidly.

"What the hell kind of monster is this? Is this even a zombie?"

Qi Xiaoshuai, clutching a lump on his head, stared in horror—the thing below, seemingly a zombie, was actually breathing?

Its crimson chest rose and fell violently, as if its heart might burst.

"Doesn't look like it. Zombies are all dead meat—does this look like dead meat? It's clearly still human!"

"But if it's human… holy shit—bio-engineered? Fucking awesome!"

The group debated wildly, eyes locked on the creature below—no one dared move.

"Old Tan, put a bullet through its heart—end it quick!"

Zhang Su signaled Tan Hua to shoot—he himself wasn't confident in a single shot.

"Got it!"

Tan Hua agreed, raised his rifle to aim—when suddenly—

Puff!

The zombie's chest burst open like a blooming flower, spraying blood and organs everywhere. Those gathered at the pit's edge scrambled back in terror.

【31/32】

Simultaneously, Zhang Su's mind registered another reduction in the Qinglong Army's surviving members. The feedback left him deeply moved—this half-human, half-zombie creature had truly not died; it still retained human traits…

"It exists between human and zombie—no idea how it became this way. Fucking incredible."

Zhang Su returned to the pit's edge, staring at the broken head lolling to one side, the ruined chest of Edge Team captain Li Zhaohua, and sighed heavily.

Had it been alive, had it refused to join him, he would have spent a 【Loyalty Brand】 to recruit it—yet it had taken this insane, irreversible path.

Pan Guoliang shook the dust from his head, still trembling: "The Edge Team's experiments are all insane—how the hell did they turn a person into a zombie? Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!"

He didn't know how Li Zhaohua became this half-zombie hybrid, but if it could happen once, it could be refined over time—either perfected, or spiraling out of control.

Either outcome was bad news for survivors.

"Even crazier than Fu Wei—what the hell is this?"

Zheng Xinyu stared at Li Zhaohua's exploded chest with a complex expression. She'd thought Fu Wei's research was extreme—but compared to Li Zhaohua, it was downright tame.

(End of Chapter)